Bennett Beach Sand Dunes EarthCache
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Bennett Beach is along the shores of Lake Erie in Evans, NY. The
beach is operated by the Erie County Parks Dept. Along with the
geological feature of the sand dunes, the park also offers
picnicking, swimming, fishing and great sunsets.
Roughly speaking, sand dunes are large hills of sand that result
when wind or water carried sand particles accumulate. Coastal dunes
protect the landscape behind them from wind and waves, and provide
a substrate, or ground, for plants to form communities upon. The
dunes at Bennett Beach also provide habitat for various birds such
as ducks, gulls and heron. Estimates are that the dunes at Bennett
Beach are between 3,000 and 4,000 years old, as are many of the
dunes along the Great Lakes. Three things are required for dune
formation to occur: a large supply of sand, wind speeds capable of
moving it, and a location for sand to accumulate. Sand is composed
of particles of eroded rock material varying in size from 0.02 mm
to 1.6 mm. Most of the rock material that is eroded into sand is
done so either by water or ice. As the sand is washed ashore by
waves and currents, the wind begins to propel the sand particles
via either airborne suspension in the wind or saltation. Saltation
is the bouncing of sand particles by wind along the ground. The
majority of sand moved into dunes is done by saltation. As these
particles move forward they also bump other particles forward,
which is known as surface creeping. The moving sand either stops
when the wind subsides below approximately 10 mph or the sand meets
an obstruction. Common obstructions include trees, vegetation,
rocks and animal carcasses. A small mound called a hummock is then
formed. Once the hummock is formed, the wind continues to move the
sand up the pile. Once the pile becomes too steep it collapses on
itself and the excess sand falls down the leeward side or slip face
of the dune. The collapsing sand comes to rest when it reaches just
the right steepness to keep the dune stable which is usually on an
incline of 30 to 34 degrees. As this process repeats itself, the
sand dune grows.
The logging requirements for this Earthcache are:
1. Post a picture of the dunes at Bennett Beach with your log
entry.
2. Report the wind speed and wave height when you visited the
dunes in your log entry. Both estimations or actual meteorological
data are acceptable.
3. Measure or estimate the height of the sand dunes and e-mail me
your results.
Please provide me with any feedback which will make this
Eartcache more enjoyable. Thanks!
Congrats to Detecto on the FTF!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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